McAllister jumps to Williams Mullen - Stearns lands at APCO - Party fit for a king - Opening day festivities draw crowds

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MCALLISTER JUMPS TO WILLIAMS MULLEN: Veteran lobbyist Singleton McAllister is jumping to Williams Mullen. McAllister comes on board from Blank Rome where she lobbied for clients like Comcast, eBay Inc., Education Reform Now Advocacy, Global Residential Solutions and Mosaic. McAllister joins several other recent hires for the firm since it formed Williams Mullen Government Relations in 2011, including Mike Ferrell, Tom Jolly, Matt LaRocco and Chip Nottingham.

STEARNS LANDS AT APCO: Former Florida Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns is headed to APCO Worldwide as a senior adviser and member of the firm’s international advisory council. The 12-term lawmaker served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee where he chaired the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

HAPPY FRIDAY! We hope you are enjoying a slower day after all the handshaking, schmoozing and running around the Capitol that goes with opening day. As you catch up on emails, be sure to send us hot tips, juicy gossip and all the rest to apalmer@politico.com and btau@politico.com. Follow us on twitter at @apalmerdc and @ByronTau. And, with that we mark Dave’s last PI and want to thank him for being a generous colleague, deft money and politics reporter and a plethora of Buffalo facts.

A NOTE FROM DAVE: Anna and I wrote our first PI together a few hours after we first met each other, which just so happened to be both of our first days on the job at POLITICO. Neither of us quite knew what we were diving into, and perhaps, found ourselves even less certain of how our work would be received. A cool 438 PI editions later, I’m off to my new challenge as senior political reporter at the Center for Public Integrity hearted and humbled by the interest, responsiveness and loyalty of you, our now tens of thousands of daily readers and subscribers.

Throughout, Anna has been the ultimate collaborator and teammate in producing PI — boundless talent, sourced to the nines and a hell of a lot of fun. Among the things I’ll miss most about this job: sharing a daily byline with her. A big thank you, too, to Tarini Parti, and her predecessor, Abby Phillip, whose contributions to PI have enriched the column considerably. And my best to Byron Tau, who begins his PI tenure Monday and I trust will be a hit. Don’t any of you in readership land be strangers: I’m at dalevint@gmail.com.

And now back to the latest and greatest K Street news.

OPENING DAY FESTIVITIES DRAW CROWDS: Nary a day on Capitol Hill is as happy a time as opening day, when lawmakers bring their little kids, spouses and sometimes extended families to see them officially take office. PI tipsters sent us some memorable moments, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) packed room where David Axelrod held court along with Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Another surprising spotting at Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) swearing-in included AJ Rehberg, whose father, outgoing Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), lost in his bid to unseat the Montana Democrat. AJ Rehberg tells PI that he attended Hester’s and Rep. Steve Daines’s swearing in. “As a fellow Montanan I wanted to congratulate both men on their victories,” Rehberg said.

POLITICS NOT BLOODSPORT ENOUGH? Apparently not, as Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) is headed to Sin City from Feb. 1-3 for a campaign fundraiser centered on an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight Feb. 2 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

For a $2,500 contribution, you’ll buy passage to a fundraising reception and one ticket to the fight. That doesn’t include lodging, although the Grimm campaign says it’s reserved a room block at Caesar’s Palace for supporters making the trip. See the invite: http://bit.ly/TNOxQP

VAN HOLLEN HOPES THIRD TIME IS A CHARM: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has yet again filed a campaign finance-related disclosure bill, doing so under the name “DISCLOSE 2013 Act.” It’s the latest version of two previous DISCLOSE Act bills that failed to win congressional support. “The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United opened the floodgates to unrestricted special interest spending in American elections and threatens the very nature of our democracy — the unprecedented secret spending during the last elections makes the need for this legislation even more important,” Van Hollen said in a statement.

Notable elements of this newest DISCLOSE Act legislation? All corporations, unions and other outside groups such as super PACs would, within 24 hours of making a $10,000 campaign expenditure, have to publicly report it. Corporations and other groups would likewise be required to disclose campaign expenditures to shareholders in periodic and annual reports. Outside group leaders would also have to record “approved by” messages on political ads, similar to what candidates do. Federally registered lobbyists would be required to disclose political expenditures in their quarterly lobbying reports to Congress. Read a bill summary here: http://1.usa.gov/XohbMJ

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FREEDOMWORKS'S CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR MOVES TO TEXAS THINK TANK:FreedomWorks’s federal and state campaigns director, Brendan Steinhauser, will join the Texas Public Policy Foundation as director of communications for the Right on Crime Initiative.

ERVIN | HILL TO GET A BIRDS-EYE VIEW: Ervin | Hill Strategy is taking over the third floor of popular Capitol Hill bar Bullfeathers’s building. Dan Hill tells PI that they went for “location, location, location” when deciding where to house their expanding presence. “Can’t do what we do well miles from the Hill community,” he reports.

PRO-ROMNEY SUPER PAC SNARKS BACK AT FEDERAL MONITORS:Restore Our Future, the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC that spent more money than any other super PAC during the 2012 election, sent the Federal Election Commission a lengthy, point-by-point letter rebutting federal monitors’ inquiries as to whether it filed a series of disclosure reports from March in a full and timely fashion.

In detailing 16 examples of independent expenditures the FEC considered potentially problematic, Restore Our Future either said it had properly filed disclosures, mistakenly duplicated filings or wasn’t required to file in the first place. Read the FEC’s initial inquiry letter here: http://bit.ly/W6QV2w And Read Restore Our Future’s response here: http://bit.ly/UKzoBL

TRANSATLANTIC BUSINESS GROUP FORMS: The European-American Business Council and TransAtlantic Business Dialogue have merged to form the Transatlantic Business Council. Tim Bennett, most recently worked as a solo consultant, will lead the group as its director-general. The 90-member company association has offices in Washington, D.C., and Brussels.

MORE INAUGURATION PARTY PLANNING:

— The Millennial Trains Project, the New America Foundation and No Kings Collective are joining together to host the Millennial Inaugural Ball on. Jan. 19 at a pop-up gallery space on 700 H Street NE. A ticket to attend is $75.

— South Dakota State Society will be hosting a party on Jan. 20 from 7:30 to 11 p.m. at Bistro Bistro in Dupont Circle. The event isn't exclusive to South Dakotans. Tickets are $100 and include unlimited food and drinks.

ELSEWHERE IN THE INFLUENCE WORLD:

— Several states are pursuing disclosure of donors who give to tax-exempt nonprofits that engage in elections, reports Eliza Newlin Carney of Roll Call. http://bit.ly/ZkjvET

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